Misunderstood
by X-Ruxko Almedia-X
Summary: Itachi betrays Nariko as a child. As a teen she goes on a journey to rekindle her lost love for the stoic Uchiha. Will her attempts work? Will Itachi ever return her feelings? And what is with the attraction between the Uzumakis and Uchihas? Ita x OC R
1. Ch 1: Betrayal

~~Character Information~~

Name: Nariko  
Clan: Uzumaki (No, she is **not** SNJ Naruto)  
Age: 6 (Prologue) 12 (After graduation) 15 (Shippuden)  
Family: Naruto Uzumaki, Minato Namikaze (Father, deceased), Kushina Uzumaki (Mother, deceased)  
Village: Konohagakure  
Personality: Cool, calm, quiet, gentle, sweet, affectionate. However, she is also quick-tempered.  
Weapon of Choice: Fuuma shuriken, Katana  
Fav Food: Ramen, chocolate, dango (tri-coloured), Ice cream  
Fav Drinks: Tea (Chamomile or green with vanilla) or water  
Looks: Long blonde hair left out, whisker marks on her cheeks, bright azure blue eyes.  
Clothing: Pale orange singlet, black mini skirt, deep blue shorts, black and white striped socks, black heeled ninja shoes, orange and blue unzipped vest.  
Fears: Spiders, sharks, thunder storms  
Background:

Nariko grew up only with her twin brother Naruto. Like her brother, she has the Kyuubi sealed inside of her body, since the demon was split evenly between them. Unlike her brother, Nariko was one of the top students in the Academy and is adept at every beginner jutsu, along with much higher level ones. Nariko is also unlike her brother personality-wise, being the calmer, more rational of the two shinobi. Nariko's favourite jutsu types are Darkness, Lightning and Water. She is also very adept at healing jutsu and is skilled beyond her years.

-----------Story Begin!------------

_Prologue  
_

"Nariko! Nariko!" A young boy called, his voice breaking with tears "Nariko! Where are you?!"

The young blonde-haired girl knelt in a blood-soaked room, staring at the cause of this massacre. Uchiha Itachi. His mid-length black hair, red sharingan eyes and tall, muscular build stood before her at a matter of feet distance. She wasn't scared of the Uchiha boy, oh no. She was friends with him. With Nariko being the same age as his brother, he had taken the effort to train her, spending all his free time with the promising young Kunoichi to make her the best she could be.

"Why, Itachi-sensei?" Nariko asked solemnly, "Why did you do it?"

Itachi walked to her, and then knelt down to her, gently caressing the young female's cheek. He looked down into her eyes, where red met azure. He just stared for a little while, taking in the blank look on her face.

"Why did I kill them…?" The Uchiha questioned softly.

"Yes… Why did you kill them?"

Itachi's hand gently stroked Nariko's whiskered cheek before he leant in and kissed her forehead softly.

"So that I could protect you from them… And so that I could test my strength"

He stood up again and walked past her, striking the back of her neck as he headed for the door. Nariko's eyes widened, then slowly started closing as she fell forward, falling into a puddle of blood.

_Itachi… Why… did you… betray me…?__  
__  
_Her breathing began to slow as she listened to his footsteps slowly fading away. Tears rolled down her cheeks, blurring her darkening vision.

_I… I loved you… Don't leave me here…_

Her eyes fluttered closed. Her body twitched. How could the one person she loved most in the world have betrayed her like this? Suddenly, she felt hands clasp her shoulders and gently shake her.

"Nee-chan! Nee-chan! Wake up!"

It was Naruto. Somehow, he had found out where she was.

"C'mon Nariko! W-Wake up!" He sobbed.

Nariko groaned, giving him a sign that she was still alive. Naruto picked up his twin sister and ran, ran away as fast as he could towards the hospital. Meanwhile, Nariko finally passed out, tears still streaming down her face.

~~Years Later~~

**Ding, ding, ding, ding...**

"Nariko! Wait up for me! Dattebayo!" Naruto called after his twin, running after her.

Nariko paused, but continued walking out of the classroom. Her azure blue eyes scanned over the remaining students in the room, soon locking on the so-called "heart throb"; Uchiha Sasuke. Said Uchiha looked up from what he was doing, which so happened to be nothing, and stared directly back at the Uzumaki girl.

_He's so much like his brother, and he doesn't even know it..._

Nariko kept staring. There was something about the Uchiha clan that attracted her, and she wasn't sure what it was. However, she still held a deep grudge for them. Busy with her thoughts, Nariko didn't notice the Uchiha stride over to her.

"What were you staring at, Uzumaki?" Sasuke asked, folding his arms over his chest.

Nariko blinked her bright, beautiful azure eyes at him.

"Oh, just at the worst-looking so-called _heart throb_ in existence. That's all. I can't believe my brother and I are stuck on a squad with you, not to mention that pinky bitch Sakura." She said calmly, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she walked away, Naruto now catching up with her.

Sasuke glared at the Uzumaki female's back. He most certainly was _not_ used to having a girl talk like that to him. Most girls in the village were all over him, in fact, they adored him. Nariko looked over her shoulder, countering his glare with a bored, emotionless stare.

"Ne, Nariko, what was that all about with teme?" Naruto asked, tapping his twin sister's shoulder.

Nariko blinked at her brother "Nothing, he was just being a stuck up ass, as per usual. Let's go get some ramen, what do you say?"

"I'm in! But wait... don't we need to do something else today?"

Nariko shook her head. Naruto shrugged and the two continued off towards Ichiraku. They needed to celebrate their graduation from Konoha Ninja Academy...

-At Ichiraku-

Nariko and Naruto sat down together and scanned the menu. Unfortunately, today they had nothing Nariko wanted to eat. Looked like she was paying for Naruto's ramen... Again. Said Uzumaki female looked down at her left leg and smiled slightly at the black headband that was tied around it. The silver metal plate glinted back at her, as if to say "Congratulations".

"Nariko-nee-chan, are you having anything?" Naruto asked after ordering his own food.

Nariko simply shook her head. She wasn't hungry anyway. Said Uzumaki sat there and watched her brother eat away, ordering bowl after bowl of his favourite food. It was like this almost every day. Suddenly, she felt something tugging at her black and orange striped sock and looked down to see a small black and white kitsune pup. It stared up at her with it's beautiful, large bright green eyes, an almost pleading look on it's cute face.

"Where'd you come from little one? Shouldn't you be with your family?" Nariko murmured to the kit, carefully picking it up and setting it on her lap.

The kitsune simply let out a small yip and curled up, enjoying the warmth. Nariko smiled.

"Ah, that was good!" Naruto smiled, putting his 10th bowl with the others. "I'm done! Arigatou Nariko-nee-chan!"

Nariko nodded and picked up the small kitsune, then paid for all of Naruto's ramen. Unfortunately, that was almost all of her money. The two Uzumaki's walked side by side back home.

"Naruto-nii-chan, I'm gonna go train for a while. Can you take care of Kage-chan for me?" Nariko asked, handing the pup over to her brother.

Nodding, Naruto said a simple goodbye and the two parted ways as Nariko headed towards the training grounds...

{End of Chapter 1}


	2. Ch 2: Hallucination?

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own any of the characters in this story other than Nariko and Kage. If I did, oh lord, the show wouldn't be rated M, trust me. Plus, a few of the characters would be locked away under my bed. The story is my original idea, and I'm willing to see just how far I can take this before I get writers block.

Chapter 2: Hallucination?

Nariko fell to her knees in a dusty, sweaty mess. Her breathing was laboured as she hung her head, trying to catch her breath. She had been training for hours and it was just about to start raining. Just like the night Itachi left her behind…

_I miss him so much… I want to see him again so badly…_

Tears began running down her flushed cheeks, stinging her skin. She wasn't used to this feeling, and she most certainly couldn't name it. Her heart ached every time she thought of the Uchiha. As the rain started pouring around her, she tilted her head towards the sky, raindrops fell onto her skin.

"What are you doing out here all alone, Nariko-chan?"

Nariko's blue eyes shot open. How come she hadn't been able to sense anyone coming?! Tilting her head to the right, she scanned the trees and saw him. Raven-coloured hair slicked down from the rain, sharingan eyes that stared into her soul, seemingly uncaring expression. There was no mistaking him.

"I-I-Itachi…? W-What…?"

"What am I doing here?" The Uchiha asked, walking over to her. "I've been keeping an eye on you since I left"

He slowly began reaching a hand down to Nariko, watching her eyes widen.

"B-But… Why?"

Itachi stopped his movements. Surely she was happy to see him, right?

"Why… did you come all this way…?"

"I have to make sure my only student is still surviving on her own, and I have to watch how she grows into a fine young woman, it's as simple as that."

Nariko blushed, easily embarrassed by such sweet, honest words coming from the stoic man before her. But it didn't seem right to hear these words from him of all people. Sandaime-sama, sure, but he was like her grandfather. Her blush retreated as her eyes adjusted. He looked far too much like he had six years ago, it just didn't seem right. Blue eyes stared up into red ones. The red flickered, revealing nervous black for a split second before returning.

"You… You're not him!"

She rose to her feet, glaring at the imposter as if to dare him to fight her. 'Itachi' stared at her in mild surprise.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm Itachi; you know I'd never lie to—"

A kunai went whizzing past his head, slashing off a few strands of his hair. His expression changed to a shocked one as Nariko kept the same expression as before, only now there was more fire in her eyes. She was intent on getting rid of this imposter, whoever they were. The wind tossed her hair as she stood there, waiting for her opponent to make a move. It would be no fun if she were to just beat them up without them fighting back.

"The Itachi I know would never say things like you have… He's too proud. He never complimented me ever; he knew it would make me soft; all he ever did was push me to exceed my best and work hard to become something I never used to be… And when he left, I knew I was to keep training to defeat anyone in my way, especially an imposter! You can't fool me with a Genjutsu, I was taught better!"

The imposter sighed, shaking his head before transforming back into the person she hated more than anyone… Sasuke. A smirk curled her lips. Oh, what an opportunity to prove that all of her training was worth it, to prove she was better, to prove that just because she had a demon in her didn't mean she _was_ the demon its self.

"Never thought you'd be smart enough to be able to see through that. It's surprising, since you're related to that dobe."

Nariko glared at him. Oh, this victory would be more than satisfactory. It would be downright sweet!

"Are we just gonna stand here talking or are you gonna fight me? Unless you're afraid to be beaten by a girl?" Nariko teased, her hand clasped around the handle of her prized katana.

Sasuke snarled at her, "You Uzumaki's are always running your mouths. Let's see if you can back up that big talk of yours."

Seconds later metal met metal as the two blocked each other's first attempted strikes. Even though Nariko was tired from her training, her strength still matched Sasuke's. Using her free hand, she reached back into her extra weapon pouch and silently withdrew a poison-dipped senbon. The sound of scraping metal could easily be heard as the Uchiha tried to force Nariko back. Perfect opportunity. Taking the chance, Nariko added chakra to her feet and pushed off the ground, throwing her senbon at him in the process. However, when it came into contact with him… POOF! Nariko's bright blue eyes widened.

"N-Nani?! A substitution?! When—"

Suddenly an arm wrapped around her neck, pulling her into someone. Knowing she couldn't move her head, she moved her eyes and saw the Uchiha she was fighting.

"What… are you… playing at?" Nariko coughed, barely any oxygen able to travel down her airways.

Sasuke said nothing, only released her neck before throwing her into the nearby river. The icy water felt horrible against her already cold skin from the wind and rain. Summoning up just enough strength, she span around underwater and swam towards the surface, gasping for air when her head broke the surface. After managing to open her eyes, she gasped in shock. There, on the river bank, she saw the back of a black cloak, a red cloud design scattered over it. Nariko quietly swam to the bank and rested her arms on it, holding herself up. Who was this person…? All she could see was messy dark red hair.

"Stop this. Uchiha, go home immediately and leave Ms. Uzumaki with me. Before I'm forced to get rid of you by force." The figure said calmly.

Nariko peeked through their legs and watched as Sasuke ran off. Once the person was sure Sasuke was gone, they turned and knelt down, offering a hand to her.

"Here, let me help you. You don't seem like you have the energy to pull yourself out."

Nariko's eyes studied the new person's face. Dark brown eyes, emotionless face, strange black line around their neck. Somehow, they seemed to know who she was. Either way, they were right; she _was_ too weak to pull herself out. Reaching her hand up to his, she accepted his offer and allowed herself to be pulled sopping wet from the cold river.

"S-So… W-Who are y-you?" Nariko stammered, her teeth chattering from the cold, "I-I'm sure I-I've never s-seen you b-before…"

The person said nothing, just draped a cloak much like their own around her. Nariko blinked, but pulled the cloak tight around her body to warm up.

"You'll find out in time who I am, so there's no need for me to tell you now. All you need to know is that I work with your old sensei; the brother of the boy you were supposed to be fighting a moment ago."


End file.
